Bike Week visit

[NHBUOY]

...LR, it IS kind of a (100+years?) long held,traditional date, and it used to be a crowded, "long" weekend thing, appropriately timed for Father's day...now it's a week-long event...I think the HUGE turnouts, for a couple of years there, was partially the economy, COMBINED with a RE-discovery & resurgence of the motorcycle as a "recreational toy"...the weather is what it is...MOVING MCWeek to a "regular summer season" date, IMO, the merchants don't NEED, or can accomodate, MCWeek'ers during that time...I think the economy has "thinned" the traffic, and the weather has been way better than the forecasts have said it should be...and...wait 15mins...it'll change anyways......

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by NHBUOY

...LR, it IS kind of a (100+years?) long held,traditional date, and it used to be a crowded, "long" weekend thing, appropriately timed for Father's day...now it's a week-long event...I think the HUGE turnouts, for a couple of years there, was partially the economy, COMBINED with a RE-discovery & resurgence of the motorcycle as a "recreational toy"...the weather is what it is...MOVING MCWeek to a "regular summer season" date, IMO, the merchants don't NEED, or can accomodate, MCWeek'ers during that time...I think the economy has "thinned" the traffic, and the weather has been way better than the forecasts have said it should be...and...wait 15mins...it'll change anyways......

It's much more about beer tents and t-shirt sales now. It's not a motorcycle event except that it's motorcyclists who are buying the beer and t-shirts.

If it were to just go back to a single weekend I think the vendors would probably make out better. Now they are just stretching out the same sales effort over a longer period of time.

A July or August date is a non-starter for many reasons.

[dykg]

I think most people elected to go into Boston to see the Bruins parade. I usually go to bike weekend every year but being a die hard Boston Bruins, I could not miss this event. Bike week/weekend is every year, winning the Stanley Cup, it took 39 years.

I will be up there next year for bike weekend, unless maybe a repeat??

[tis]

Originally Posted by lawn psycho

It's much more about beer tents and t-shirt sales now. It's not a motorcycle event except that it's motorcyclists who are buying the beer and t-shirts.

If it were to just go back to a single weekend I think the vendors would probably make out better. Now they are just stretching out the same sales effort over a longer period of time.

A July or August date is a non-starter for many reasons.

I agree, it seemed a lot busier and exciting when it was a weekend only. I wonder if the week has brought that much more business.

[Belmont Resident]

My wife talked to a vendor who feels they lost money because although it was posted they never closed the bridge down to 4 wheel traffic at all. This apparently has a huge effect on how much pedestrian traffic crosses the bridge which we saw first hand was not much at all, and in turn affects their business.
Last year we called the Laconia PD and asked if the bridge was closed on Fathers day.
We were told it was closed down to 4 wheel traffic so we went all around town and came in Roller Coaster rd only to find the bridge was open and there was almost no traffic.
So I’d have to say that the Laconia PD is seriously lacking in the communications dept. when it comes to bike week.

[AllAbourdon]

There are a lot more events throughout the week than there used to be. People need to get outside the weirs and go around the other events which may or may not be in Laconia.

Ride up to mt. washington, hill climes, races, etc. More to do than wander around and go to the beer tents up there. I like to participate in events throughout the week and maybe go to the Weirs beach area once or twice to see the vendors and bands.

Here's a random smattering of events off the calendar....

Biker Build-Off sponsored by Spiced Jack 94 Rum and the Lobster Pound
4th Annual “Rally for Kids in Crisis”
Laconia Harley-Davidson: Local bands daily
Heritage Harley-Davidson: The Nation of Patriots Flag Tour ,
US Vintage Motorcycle Grand Prix at NHMS
Team Emma's Granite State Ride. $50.00 per bike to benefit pediatric brain cancer research
Bike Show at Patrick's Pub & Eatery
Paradise Beach Club: Arm wrestling contest
MOTORCYCLES ONLY! at the Mt. Washington Auto Road:
Best of the Bikers Pool Tournament
Hill Climb Drag Races at Gunstock
Tricycle Drag Races
Short Track Race at NHMS
88th Loudon Classic at NHMS
Motorcycle Rodeo at Kitchen Cravings
Rolling Thunder Races! New England Dirt track Series at Jolly Roger's Motor-Sports Park
1st Annual "New England Unity Run
Chicken BBQ at the Rod & Gun Club
Scenic Ride from Rally Headquarters: Weirs Beach to the Southern Coast of Maine